Stretching the Heavens: The Life of Eugene England and the Crisis of Modern Mormonism

by Terryl L. Givens

Eugene England (1933-2001)—one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals in modern Mormonism—lived in the crossfire between religious tradition and reform. This first serious biography, by leading historian Terryl L. Givens, shimmers with the personal tensions felt deeply by England during the turmoil of the late twentieth century. Drawing on unprecedented access to England's personal papers, Givens paints a multifaceted portrait of a devout Latter-day Saint whose precarious position on the edge of church hierarchy was instrumental to his ability to shape the study of modern Mormonism.

A professor of literature at Brigham Young University, England also taught in the Church Educational System. And yet from the sixties on, he set church leaders' teeth on edge as he protested the Vietnam War, decried institutional racism and sexism, and supported Poland's Solidarity movement—all at a time when Latter-day Saints were ultra-patriotic and banned Black ordination. England could also be intemperate, proud of his own rectitude, and neglectful of political realities and relationships, and he was eventually forced from his academic position. His last days, as he suffered from brain cancer, were marked by a spiritual agony that church leaders were unable to help him resolve.

Genres: Biography, Religion, Nonfiction, Lds, History, Mormonism, Faith

344 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2021

About the author

Terryl L. Givens was born in upstate New York, raised in the American southwest, and did his graduate work in Intellectual History (Cornell) and Comparative Literature (Ph.D. UNC Chapel Hill, 1988), working with Greek, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and English languages and literatures. As Professor of Literature and Religion, and the James A. Bostwick Professor of English at the University of Richmond, he teaches courses in Romanticism, nineteenth-century cultural studies, and the Bible and Literature. He has published in literary theory, British and European Romanticism, Mormon studies, and intellectual history.

Dr. Givens has authored several books, including The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy (Oxford 1997); By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (Oxford 2003); People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (Oxford 2007); The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2009); and When Souls had Wings: Pre-Mortal Life in Western Thought (2010). Current projects include a biography of Parley P. Pratt (with Matt Grow, to be published by Oxford in 2011), a sourcebook of Mormonism in America (with Reid Neilson, to be published by Columbia in 2011), an Oxford Handbook to Mormonism (with Phil Barlow), and a two volume history of Mormon theology. He lives in Montpelier, Virginia.

Reviews

[Andrew Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Givens aims to do a lot with this book, covering a lot of 20th century Mormon history, literature, theology, society, and education. I think I knew a lot about England, but Givens found a lot of very interesting material about him and the people he has interacted with that I didn't know. Givens constantly stops the narrative to insert essays about theological or other topics, often lifted from his earlier books, which are very informative and thought-provoking, but the practice can be a bit frustrating when you want to get through the story. I did not find Givens' approach to be as conservative as I have heard people say. I really appreciated his discussion of the delayed crisis of modernism in the Church (occurring in the 80s and 90s instead of earlier in the century), and his explanations of the conservative swing in the 30s, and the changes in attitudes since England's death, which would have placed Gene more in the mainstream of current LDS thought. I think Givens does an excellent job in detecting and explaining these ideological and theological shifts. I also appreciate the mixture of critical evaluation and charity Givens has for Gene and everyone else.
I did an interview with Givens about the book for the Dialogue Book Report podcast, I will include a link when it is ready.

[conor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a lot of interesting stuff in here, as someone who has encountered a few of England's writings and been deeply affected by them. The biography is inflected throughout (for better and also, perhaps more frequently, for worse) by Givens' own biases and prejudices. There's still much of interest here for folks that are curious about the life of Gene England. If you are more interested in the intellectual life and work of England, you will probably be better served by Kristine Haglund's forthcoming EUGENE ENGLAND: A MORMON LIBERAL, which I am eagerly anticipating!

I am fascinated by England's life and especially the ways that he felt continuously compelled to seek validation and approval from the Quorum of the 12 and other leaders within the official Church hierarchy. This impulse and need is deeply foreign to me and particularly striking, for me, given the other affinities that I have to England.

The biography is also useful as an insight into some of the broader tensions between different types of authority and approaches to navigating loyalty to the Church and personal conscience (which leads to one of Givens' more provocative and fascinating asides). I'll be thinking about this and trying to develop my own Mormon ethic of how to navigate these tensions for the next good while.

Probably a bit too in the weeds for most readers, but worth checking out if you care about some of those inside baseball happenings of the intersection of Mormon intellectuals and the Church Office Building.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read.

I was an English major at BYU in the late 80s, early 90s but never had England as a professor. I knew there was a buzz about him in the department but I wasn’t cool enough to be in the inner circle (Student Review crowd). Thus I didn’t know many of the details covered in this book.

Amazing to me was how well connected England was with so many of the Mormon elite. He must have been a fearless networker. But, as Terryl Givens points out, that fearlessness (or social naivete) led eventually to his BYU downfall. I found myself silently shouting in nearly every chapter, “GENE...STOP WRITING THE Q12!”

Many of the old guard Q12 that England clashed with are no longer living and, as pointed out in the book, the LDS church now officially embraces the concept of “spiritual inoculation” that landed him in so much trouble with them. Maybe he was just a generation ahead of his time. But maybe not. Was Elder Holland’s speech to BYU faculty this week (August 2021) directed to the Professor Englands of 2021? I think so. For sure the DezNat crowd would have had Eugene England in their sights if he was still around.

And that makes me sad, because I think we in the LDS church need more people that are comfortable living an authentic life as England so obviously did. Study the doctrines, think things out, question the status quo. But do it with love and in the spirit of edifying each other and building up the kingdom. I think that’s all that England wanted to do.

I wonder if Givens will get pushback from his BYU colleagues or overseers for writing this book? It doesn’t reflect kindly on the BYU administration and department of religion of the not-so-distant past. At least Givens can point to the numerous footnotes and show how he was just relating the facts.

And interesting facts they are.

[Ronald Schoedel III · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I was first made aware of Eugene England as a part of the Mormon literature scene by the legendary Doug Thayer, from whom I took a class in the late 2000's at BYU. I had no knowledge of Brother England's more controversial writings for a few more years. (I sometimes feel like my time at BYU was just a few years too late, because if I'd been there earlier I'd have taken every class I could have taken from England, Thayer, and Leslie Norris. Of course, being there when I actually was there is responsible for every good thing in my life right now, so I’ll not complain.)

When I read that Teryl Givens was authoring this biography, it became not only unmissable but "pre-order to arrive on day of release" worthy. I was not disappointed. Givens paints a respectful and sensitive picture of Gene, whilst acknowledging the deep insecurities and obtuseness for which he became somewhat legendary among the "old guard" in the LDS church and at BYU.

We’ll set aside for the time being Brother England’s immensely important championing of Mormon literature as a valid genre worthy of study and promotion, but this part of his life and career cannot be underestimated. He practically invented the field and additionally was responsible for forming and leading (at now-UVU) the first university “Mormon studies” field after his ouster from BYU.

Reading about Gene's controversial writings, which were actually comparatively few in number, we see a man who was decades before his time. The irony of course being that by being decades before his time, Gene helped create the time we live in now, by bringing to the fore important theological and Mormon cultural issues that in the LDS church of 2021 many members don't even bat an eye at. The 1960s "liberal Mormon" Gene looks like a Gen Z or Gen X Mormon of today. The 80s and 90s humanities professor Gene was pretty average in his politics for a BYU humanities professor, all things considered. But…for the love, Gene, why the relentless letters to apostles seeking validation??? This was probably his downfall, in the end.

It was fascinating to read of his interactions with apostles in the church, and his deep love and respect for them even when in one unfortunate incident a particularly authoritarian apostle publicly humiliated Gene before millions. But you can't help but to know Gene's heart when you find out two days later he wrote in his journal calling this man one of his heroes, and how upon learning of said apostle’s cancer diagnosis, Gene immediately called all his study abroad students together in prayer on his behalf. Gene was famously rebuked by the same Elder McConkie on another occasion for encouraging his students and others to form a deep and meaningful personal relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ. You wouldn’t think that’s such a controversial or heretical idea, but BRM was livid over it and actually threatened Gene’s eternal salvation over it. Of course now this same thing is taught in every general conference of the Church.

Today we can be grateful for the forward-looking church and university leaders who helped smooth the way for Gene, such as Jeffrey Holland and Marion Hanks (who lost a future calling as an apostle because he stood up for Gene in a confrontational BYU trustees' meeting).

We can be thankful that Gene (and others working in concert with him) were so influential in reversing the priesthood ban. Particularly, the scholarly article commissioned by Gene and published by him when he was editor of Dialogue, which detailed how there was no actual doctrinal basis for banning blacks from holding the priesthood, and suggesting that it was all based on prevalent racist attitudes among church leaders when it was implemented, had been read and studiously marked up and annotated by Spencer W. Kimball prior to reversing the ban.

It's a bit of a shame that England is known so much for a few controversial articles, mostly about his strong beliefs on race, pacifism--and later, feminism. His stance on these topics is one that probably half of currently active American members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might not entirely embrace, but which most of those same members would at least concede are beliefs that can certainly be countenanced by a faithful Mormon Christian disciple. Our institutional attitude toward gays and lesbians has moved ahead light years in the last decade. Ideas that were condemned as radical feminism at Gene’s time have been incorporated it into the recent adjustments made to the temple ceremonies. Heck, in this last weekend’s general conference we heard from a Primary leader who was a powerful career attorney; in Gene’s time hiring women full time at BYU was controversial and women were frequently denied employment because hiring them was openly considered to be detrimental to their purported true purpose in mortality.

As part of my own Christian journey from confusing American conservative politics and patriotism with Christian discipleship, Gene's writings on pacifism helped me understand the difference between majoritarian Mormon cultural ideas and the fact that there is a not small number of faithful members who really do believe in the modern scriptural admonition to renounce war and proclaim peace (among them, President Kimball who lamented that Americans and especially American church members are a “warlike people”).

Members of the church who live outside America, and have not experienced the conflation of American Republican politics and American military adventurism of the 60s and forward with eternal gospel truth will be confused as to what the big deal is with many of Gene's papers or talks.

Nowadays, things said over the pulpit by apostles including Elders Holland and Uchtdorf aren't much different to what Gene was saying in the 90s. The Church's own gospel topics essays readily admit things Gene published years ago and for which he was censured. After some dark decades of abandonment of the adventuresome intellectualism that characterized the first hundred years of the church, especially under Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the church now has embarked on an extensive program of publishing academically sound historical volumes, recognizing that the often fabricated or deeply edited "faith inspiring stories" genre of church history is at the very least insufficient.

BYU is now the home of the Maxwell Institute (the current academic home of Brother Givens), giving a platform and church funding to the scholarly theologians that the old guard of apostles (McConkie, Petersen, and Packer, primarily) adamantly preached shouldn't even exist. McConkie's level of presumption and authoritarian streak was somewhat ironic, as McConkie himself was censured multiple times by the first presidency: rather famously for taking it upon himself to include personal speculative beliefs as though they were authoritative "Mormon doctrine" in his life's major book, and for the talk he gave at BYU calling out one of England's papers--which merely expounded on the doctrine of eternal progression, which was taught openly and plainly by church Presidents Smith and Young and Snow, and likely in thousands of ward Sunday schools at that time to this day. Gene and a cadre of sympathetic church and BYU leaders paved the way to a modern era of "Mormonism", wherein modern members, like early members, no longer are told to fear scholarly study but can ponder and study and embrace all truth in their discipleship. We still have correlation, and probably always will, but we no longer fear ideas expounded from the scriptures and church history by faithful scholars, of the sort Gene was.

It is tragic that Gene died in such anguish over his life's work, when it is clear that his work touched thousands, built and edified the testimonies of countless students and other members. I imagine he and Bruce R. have by now had a good laugh over their falling out in the 1980s. I find myself wishing I'd have been able to attend a London study abroad with Gene or one of his somewhat famous salons at his home, where students, professors, authors, and poets met for friendly discussion. Because in the end, that's all Gene wanted to do: eliminate the completely unnecessary and incorrect Mormon cultural assumption that discussion of ideas was somehow disloyal or dangerous. As Givens quotes toward the end of the book, Joseph Smith, near the end of his ministry, said: “If the Presbyterians have any truth, embrace that. If the Baptists and Methodists have truth, embrace that too. Get all the good in the world if you want to come out a pure Mormon.” Brother England really was more of an orthodox believer than the elitist generation in the church that existed from the 30s to the 90s or so.

My own faith and testimony of the mission we all have as members of the body of Christ have been bolstered by this volume. I can't wait to shake Gene's hand on the other side. Millions of modern members of the church will never know the pain and anguish Gene felt over his work, and how much of their modern experience in the church is attributable to his legacy. I loved the title, "Stretching the Heavens". It is so fitted to this account of a remarkable man's tortured yet brilliant career.

(I will note that at times I was unsure to whom this book was directed. Many aspects of church culture and doctrine are explained in brilliant detail—making a non-member reading it feel welcome—whilst other arcane aspects of church hierarchy and titles are sometimes left completely unexplained. A bit of tighter editing would fix these up.)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly didn’t know about Eugene England but was drawn to this book because of my interest in hearing other’s stories and my admiration for Terryl Givens. It was interesting to read about England’s balance between his strong faith and humility alongside his progressive ideas and reasoning. He was a true believer who asked hard questions. His views were more liberal than others during his lifetime, but they would’ve been more mainstream today (although his pushing and stretching of boundaries likely had an important impact). I appreciated both his spiritual experiences and his intellectual love for the gospel. He seemed like a genuine, interesting, brilliant, and compassionate person who had a great love for life and beauty in all its forms. I would’ve loved to meet him, so I’m grateful that through this book I at least got to be acquainted with his life, beliefs, and experiences.

-One of his first spiritual experiences at age 8: “Beside and in me I felt something more real than the wheat or the ground or the sun, something warm like the sun but warm inside my head and chest and bones, something like us but strange, thrilling, fearful, but safe.” p. 15

-He would use the feelings of this spiritual experience to measure future ones: “That was a very moving and memorable experience that I’ve never forgot and it was a touch stone for the rest of my life. That feeling became the way I would measure everything—if it was in tune with that feeling. That was the way of testing if it was true, or connected with the Savior.” p. 17

-“My religion began with feelings. It was only later that they were confirmed with intellectual experience.” p. 16

-“In a culture that essentially criminalized doubt, thousands of members found themselves faced with limiting black and white options, to affirm or reject. With no room to embrace complexity and fallibility and a messy past, they chose rejection. Only recently have apostolic voices extended the church’s arms to embrace those unable to articulate honestly a temple of religious certainty.” p. 75

-“I believe ‘Mormonism’ affords opportunity…for thoughtful disciples who will not be content with merely repeating some of its truths, but will develop its truths, and enlarge it by that development…cooperating in the works of the Spirit, until they help to give to the truths received a more forceful expression, and carry it beyond the earlier and cruder stages of development.” B.H. Roberts p. 116

-“I have thought for some time that the old and usually fruitless argument about whether we are saved by faith or by works is resolved by seeing salvation as a condition of being, gradually brought about through a combination of God’s gifts and our response to them that changes us—not a mere reward for works or irresistible infusion of grace.” p.118

-“Grace cannot bestow salvation because salvation is neither a gift won nor a reward earned. It is a condition attained when sanctified individuals become the kind of persons, in the kinds of relationships, that constitute the divine nature.” p.121

-“I am less assured, and can see merit and truth in positions quite different from my own…What I think lasts is the stories…I think we are a people of the sacred stories.” p. 150

-Coming to know the redeeming truth of the Church: “If is precisely in the struggle to be obedient while maintaining integrity, to have faith while being true to reason and evidence, to serve and love in the face of imperfections and even offenses, that we can gain the humility we need to allow divine power to ender our lives in transforming ways.” P. 198

-“He states as his thesis that ‘relationships and experiences of salvation’ are ‘more true, more dependable, than the vagaries of abstract theology we call ‘the Gospel.’” P. 199

-“The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century” M. Russell Ballard February 26, 2016 (encouraging gospel transparency and spiritual inoculation and the study of the best LDS scholarship available) p. 216-217

-England’s comment on a student’s paper: “Take some risks. Leave something unresolved but deeply felt.” p. 276

[Kandis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much. It's a must read for anyone interested in Latter-day Saint contemporary history and culture. It dives into culture wars and the roles differing political views and theological ideas have played in the past and current church environment. It's refreshing to read about a liberal thinker who was such an influential figure in midcentury Mormonism. Terryl Givens does an amazing job writing tribute to Eugene England while also providing interesting history to contextualize his story with. 5 stars for this book, and 5 stars for Eugene England.

[Ben Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

1-10 Takeaways:
1) In August 1938, J. Rubin Clark gave an address to CES leaders where he informed them that they should only teach spiritual matters to their students. Then, two years later, he instructed that teachers should refrain from giving any answer to students that wouldn't strengthen their faith. This delineation between the secular and the spiritual along with a refusal to broach controversial topics was a strong departure from the origins of the Church. Mostly, Joseph Smith practiced and established a culture of seeking/mixing secular and spiritual truth and then disseminating it, broadly.
2) England feared that there would be an exodus of more liberal/educated LDS youth if the Church did not begin practicing open and honest dialogue about its complicated past. In many ways, this has been true; but, the LDS Church is an outlier when it comes to their more educated members being more likely to stay: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3511041#...
3) The LDS Church is a fusion of a hierarchical leadership structure, akin to Catholicism, and a democratization of revelation, commonly found in Evangelical denominations. Because of this fusion, there exists a tricky tension where Church leaders seek unity in their revelation all the while Church members (especially scholars) feel eager for doctrinal/cultural updates, explanation and dialogue. (Givens quoted LDS Church leaders expressing their commitment to unity over their personal opinions/revelation).
4) England regularly sought reassurance from Church leaders. One correspondence with a Church leader (I forget who it was) resulted in England being corrected/counseled that all of his writing should be 4.1) Sincere 4.2) Right and 4.3) Effective. I thought that this would be a valuable checklist in evaluating discourse.

1-10 Questions:
1) In a state of unemployment, England found himself to be "not Mormon enough" for Brigham Young University but "too Mormon" for other schools. It seems that England's discipleship to Jesus Christ didn't always square with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' culture in ~1970-1990. So, what is the difference between culture cohesion and discipleship? Kind of hard to tell in a the LDS Church where there is a fusion of a strong hierarchical structure, akin to the Catholic Church, and a rich democratization of revelation, commonly celebrated in Evangelical denominations.
2) Was the CES educational shift (see Takeaway #1) the nexus of all the wonky theories about the Church's controversial topics like why blacks didn't have the priesthood? Because Church members weren't encouraged to speak about controversial topics; or, explore more secular ideas outside of the Church, it left a lot of the necessary nuance out of the conversation.
3) The LDS Church used to be a more politically balanced church; but, with the pro-life stance on abortion being a core tenant of the GOP, Church members found themselves being drawn towards/confined within the Republican Party. Jesus Christ's character is broad/complex. Jesus Christ's Gospel is broad/complex. There is room for many different political beliefs within the archetype of a disciple of Christ, practicing His Gospel. How can LDS Church members gain more diverse political thinking/allegiance? I didn't vote for Trump but a lot of my friends/family did. They were afraid that they needed to vote for him so that the Supreme Court wouldn't have too many pro-choice judges. As long as Church members feel strongly about abortion, they seem predominantly stuck in the GOP.

[J.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A biography of Eugene England, who was an "intellectual" and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, or Mormon) when being an intellectual wasn't as well received as it is today. But the book goes beyond just biography and explains the time and sentiments, especially as it related to Church leadership, some of whom didn't agree with the questions England brought up.

I didn't know anything about Gene England and actually knew little about what was going on at the time. I recall some pushback against the intellectual crowd and something about the "September Six" (which England was not part of, although he was probably friends with them), but it was never something I followed. So this was a very insightful read for me, and I appreciate the deftness that Terryl Givens brings to the story (I wouldn't have read it if he hadn't been the author). He really made clear where England was coming from and why, but he also pointed out how "tone deaf" he was when it came to the reactions of some in church leadership. And he paints a very sympathetic portrait of a man who brought up difficult questions and questioned interpretations of doctrine and cultural practices. And it has helped me to better see where others are coming from, especially now where the Church has become so much more open in discussing topics that in the past may have felt uncomfortable, and when so many struggle with these changes. Brother England (and others) basically paved the way for a more open acceptance of these things. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Steven Garff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long been a big fan of Eugene England, so I was excited for this to come out. But I sort prejudged the book and assumed the subtitle: "The Crisis of Modern Mormonism" was just something the publisher tacked on to add sex appeal. But the book is about the crisis as much, if not more, than it is about England himself. Givens, who is a gifted intellectual historian, has written in this book one of the best histories of the modern church's struggles with truth, objectivity, intellectual and academic freedom, and civil rights ever produced. I also learned quite a bit about England that I did not know. I was reasonably familiar with his published writings, but having access to his letters and journals gave a much better sense of the man, good and bad. I was shocked by how insufferable he could be and, while I knew he struggled with the way he was treated by the church and leadership, I always just kind of assumed he let it roll off his back. And I saw him as sort of a hero who persevered through it all. I was unaware of the extreme depths of his agony and depression over the way things turned out. His story is much more tragic than I had realized.

[Drew Tschirki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eugene England was a faithful intellectual, scholar and saint who taught that embracing our Latter-day Saint past in all of its contradictions would lead to the building of faith for all. While reading this book, one learns many of the inconsistencies in Latter-day Saint doctrine, particularly regarding the priesthood ban, pacifism, eternal progression, etc.

England prophetically foresaw that if we didn't embrace our complicated past and teach the truth as we know it, then the younger generations (now) would leave the church in droves because they would feel that what they hadn't been taught had been deliberately hidden. He advocated dialogue as the medium for bridging the gap between a faithful but at-times-authoritarian Church leadership who advocated for peace and unity, and with the intellectuals and average layman who desperately desires to know the entirety of truth, no matter how ugly or complex.

An interesting part was the fact that Elder McConkie's "Mormon Doctrine" had over 1,000 errors, as noted by David O. McKay and his assistants, and yet the Church's publishing arm still published it until 2010. Another is the fact that within the Quorum of the Twelve and first presidency, some (McConkie for example) advocated that blacks were denied the priesthood due to the claim that they were the seed of Cain, and others within the same quorum disavowed that theory but valued the harmony and unity of the quorum. Others admitted that they accepted the theory as true since that is what they were taught, though there exists no scriptural evidence of such theory. England thought that because there is no scriptural evidence, nor is there any strong revelational evidence supporting the priesthood ban, that the scriptures are correct when they declare that "all are alike unto God." Yet, he doesn't let this inconsistency make his faith in the divine calling of prophets and apostles waver. He ponders that perhaps God allowed the ban to happen until the prophets and apostles were sufficiently humble to allow priesthood and temple blessings to all.

England, though considered a "liberal" by political standards, was a "conservative" in Latter-day Saint perspective, in the regards that he advocated for the liberal gospel as taught by Joseph Smith, and in many instances Brigham Young and other early church leaders. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, the church leadership began growing more conservative and discontinued many of the liberating practices that particularly women were able to participate in (church leadership positions and healing blessings) largely in order to fall into the mainstream Christian tradition. Many of the practices and beliefs were outright changed. England wants to believe and advocate that prophets and apostles are divinely inspired, though he also believes that they can also be incorrect and inherently imperfect in their beliefs and attitudes. Thus faithful dialogue is the only way to bridge the gap.

There are many other relevant ideas and issues that are brought up, and these issues in my review only scratch the surface. A wonderful read for any faithful, or faithless, or former, or any, Latter-day Saint.

Four stars only because I couldn't connect with some of the journals and the Association of Mormon Letters and other aspects at this point in life. Sometimes those sections dragged for me.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite my insistence that I would cut back on buying books, I couldn't not by the new Eugene England biography, Stretching the Heavens by Terryl Givens. I have to be upfront-- I haven't actually read anything by Eugene England. I will fix that soon, especially since @JamesGoldberg pointed out you can read most of his stuff on his website. @calvinjburke got me REALLY hyped up for the book, so I'm indebted to him. Cal just happens to be working with Terryl Givens, so he's had an insider peek throughout the whole writing process. He has been dropping hints for months. While I haven't read anything by England, I have tried to read everything Terryl and Fiona Givens have ever written, so this one was not to be missed.

I was mostly excited about the England biography because of what he represented: a faithful liberal Latter-Day Saint. While officially over the pulpit, the Church declares itself politically neutral (Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties), there is a clear tendency toward the right. In fact, I grew up thinking that was the only way to be a faithful Mormon. Rediscovering the radical-ness inherent in Mormonism's roots, our emphasis on community, the Book of Mormon's ideal of "no poor among them" and the United Order, Joseph Smith's presidential platform to reform penitentiaries and abolish slavery, a theology with a Heavenly Mother and Mother Eve cast as a hero-- all provide a strong argument for a compassionate and forward-thinking Mormonism. What happened? Finding representatives of Mormon thought that still represent these aspects of the restoration is always refreshing, and it awes me at how awesome the restoration of the gospel really was.

I would say the first book I really became aware of a liberal current in Mormonism just underneath the surface was David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism by Greg Prince. In that, I discovered the that the Church was much more politically diverse in the early twentieth century, and the presidency of David O. McKay was a kind of high watermark before the more conservative elements gained the upper hand. I also read a biography of Henry Eyring in Mormon Scientist. Eyring was a scientist, and perhaps couldn't be classified as a liberal. But he did spar with Joseph Fielding Smith over evolution, and had a complementary view of the roles of science and religion. I read many of the works of Lowell Bennion, including his The Place of a Liberal in Religion. I really liked his explication of the roles of the prophetic (corresponding to the liberal instinct to seek justice and call out abuse of the wealthy and powerful) and the priestly (corresponding to the conservative instinct to preserve, record, and transmit). Eugene England was another figure that carries on this tradition, but perhaps in a different way than Lowell Bennion or Henry Eyring. Certainly louder. But still within the tradition, not playing the role of a heretic like Sterling McMurrin.

Givens' biography of England highlighted much of these "liberal" themes, which have also been highlighted in Givens' own work. Benjamin Park's review over at By Common Consent labels Givens as "perhaps the most successful inheritor of England's legacy." I was moved by Givens' book The God Who Weeps where he beautifully expounds the doctrine of a God who is moved by human suffering and all its implications. But this idea isn't original to Givens. Of course, the idea originally from scripture, but it was Eugene England's essay The Weeping God of Mormonism that pulled out this theme from the Pearl of Great Price.

But while the biography did very well in terms of ideas and context, I found it wanting in aspects dealing with Eugene England the man. Biographical details were much more plentiful when dealing with the early chapters of his life, especially of his mission to Samoa. I found a pleasant surprise in this chapter of England's life: the scout leader of my youth was a Samoan by the name of Jacob Fitisemanu. A policeman by the name of Fitisemanu pulled a prank on the young Elder England when he was fresh off the boat in Samoa! I am assuming that this Fitisemanu was a father or grandfather of my scout leader, but I can't be sure. It was fun to find a personal connection in there.

The book gets much more scanty on events in England's life, instead relying much more on the scholarly writings of England. Givens laments at one point, England would only keep [a journal] sporadically over the next quarter century; a dismal record for one so passionate about the value of journal-keeping in the pioneer past. Givens also pulls some details from interviews with family members, as well as the many letters Eugene exchanged with general authorities. A surprising amount-- how common was it to exchange letters with apostles back in the day? Today? I would often find myself wondering, hey, where did this person come from? It says they know Eugene really well, but we haven't been introduced to them before.

I also didn't like some of Givens' character judgments of England. Givens uses naive or naivete thirteen times and the deafness or tone deafness five times when describing his interactions with general authorities. In Givens' view, Eugene's idealistic view of Mormonism should be tempered with the living reality of a religion that has become anchored in tradition and respect for authority. Sure, stick to your principles. But you have to be realistic about what you can accomplish, don't step on peoples' toes, and pick your battles. If that is naivete, I wish we had more of it. I wish it was allowed, I wish it thrived, in our wards and stakes.

The thing I find tragic about England's life was how much the approval of Church authorities held sway over his conscience and his sense of peace. Close to his deathbed, an exchange of letters with Elder Maxwell led to a downward spiral in his mental health. In his journal, he wrote, I'm getting close to a panic attack. I lay in bed this morning for almost an hour, just barely hanging on. My mind keeps circling, circling, over past failures, mistakes, omissions, wishing I could go back and change things. Nothing attracts me, fills me with desire to do, accomplish, feel. And as I think of what I must do, it all seems banal, petty doomed to failure. I felt this so much, because I have been there. But I came to a point in my life where I chose to discard this weight of guilt, of what the Church would think, of what my mission president would think, etc. But my inner religious life doesn't belong to the Church, and I shouldn't have to feel like they are peering over my shoulder all the time. I choose to stay faithful in the Church, but it is a conscious choice. In many ways, my faith has a different timbre to it than England's. In many ways, England is more optimistic than myself. But I find hope in his hope. I think one of the things that will stick with me from England's biography is his recounting of the story of Levi Savage:

As his student Dian Monson relates, "I remember how admiringly he would tell the story of Levi Savage, a member of the Martin Handcart Company and one of the few to challenge the decision by company leaders, among them an apostle, to embark on the trek across the plains at such a late season in the year. After voicing his strenuous objection to the decision and realizing his objection would go unheeded, Savage told fellow company members: 'Seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will help you all I can, will work with you, will rest with you, will suffer with you, and if necessary, I will die with you.'"

[Christopher Angulo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nice biography that gives a concise overview Eugene England's life in the realm of intellectual Mormonism. I randomly stumbled upon England when I was at DI 15 years ago. I saw "Dialogues With Myself" on the shelf, and it piqued my curiosity. I devoured the book that night. England's personal essays are some of the most powerful, insightful, and charitable writings on Mormonism that I have ever experienced. Like most who are only somewhat familiar England, I knew that he lived a controversial life within the Church, but I did not know how deep his struggle/fight went. Givens does a great job of depicting the internal struggle England felt of adhering to his beliefs and supporting an institution that was so beloved to him, but which institution, at times, did not show the same love to him. You are beat over the head with the fact that England sought (a little too much)the approval of general authorities for his intellectual endeavors (though, following their advice is another story). The book is engaging, and Givens analysis is often insightful and adds more depth to the book. The book is by no means comprehensive (i.e., I have a special printing of the McConkie events that go into great detail about what transpired. Givens brushed over some details in the McConkie incidents that I think are powerful and make the story more compelling. I assume that the same is true in other encounters of which I am not as familiar), but he tells a well-paced story, and I was left reflecting upon my personal convictions, the growth of the church, its members, and the church's treatment of education (ironically I finished the book the day after Elder Holland's remarks at BYU... so, there still may be room for growth, or better communication). It is definitely a must read for anyone interested in the intellectual history within the Church (another great read on this is Lavina Anderson's "Mercy Without End"), how general authorities work behind the scenes, theological musings, or for anyone that wants to see the fruits of someone who fought the good fight.

[MykeWeber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never met Eugene England, but I did read his book, Dialogues with Myself. That was so influential that it is one of the few volumes I’ve kept since downsizing. Neither, did I pay any attention to his life, so I am very grateful that Terryl Givens wrote this wonderful biography.

One of the great characteristics of this biography is that Givens so carefully and thoroughly contextualized England’s story.

England was able to give voice to concerns so many of us felt in those days. Like me he remained faithful to the Church and his testimony through all the turmoil. I so appreciate that. I also like the confirmation of some of the attitudes among Church Leaders that I only suspected.

I had personally spent intimate time with then President Hugh B. Brown, Elder Ezra Taft Benson and Elder Bruce R. McConkie. I found them all to be kind, loving, inspiring and inspired men of God. That, is wholly the impression I got while in their presence. So, when reports and books and comments pointed out things like Benson’s conservatism contrasted with Brown’s liberality, or read McConkie’s racist views in his book Mormon Doctrine, or read Elder Mark E. Petersen’s BYU speech which was alarmingly racist, I was troubled.

All this, brought to the fore in this volume, has led me to an epiphany of sorts. Not too long ago I was in a Sacrament Meeting attended by President M. Russell Ballard, in which he said something akin to this, “The Quorum of the 12 Apostles consists of 12 strong, highly opinionated men. There isn’t a shrinking violet among them.” He went on to explain the love and humility required to come to a prescribed consensus on matters of doctrine and policy. In light of those comments and as I read England’s story I came to realize the magnitude of that obligation in that Quorum. Clearly, the highest values among those men are love, faith, humility, kindness, long suffering, meekness, patience, attributes long declared to be qualifiers for the work of the Lord. Imagine, for instance, the burden it must have been, as the 1978 Revelation on the Priesthood was was considered, for McConkie or Petersen to acknowledge that their public pronouncements were wrong? Imagine waiting for them to process that. Clearly it took time. I can only suppose the temptation to anger and exasperation, aggravation, anxiety and doubt that must have attended those conversations. Clearly over a long period of time. Imagine carrying on with other important work, with those distractions every lingering, and Saints like England ever prodding and pestering. Imagine the grief, repentance, and anguish that a companies all of this. All we saw, was the result. The relief and peace that accompanied the result. The process had to be excruciating! I cannot imagine any other forum on the planet that could have survived it!

It is a miracle and testimony to me that the Apostles made it through, that England made it through, that I made it through.

I expect this book has fortified me for challenges yet to come. It certainly has given me confidence that those issues too, will be correctly resolved, however difficult.

[Kevin Folkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid biography of a unique Mormon thinker by a good writer, but less empathetic than the author could have been. Considering Terryl Givens is more committed to orthodoxy in the LDS church, his take on Eugene England, who was always thinking out of the box theologically, is not unbiased. While Givens had access to England's journals and papers, he brings a bit too much of his own preconceptions to this biography, repeatedly calling England "naive" or "tone-deaf." I am surprised that Givens didn't subtitle this volume "Tilting at Windmills." Still, it is solidly documented and gives us a good picture of the kind of man England was as a scholar, writer, and thinker, along with an extremely compassionate nature who always wanted to know what he could do for others.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eugene England was ahead of his time. The things he was wrestling with are things the LDS church is grappling with today. This was a well written and interesting read.

[Lisa Reising · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve finally finished this book so I can remove it from my bedside table - it was a hard one for me, not just intellectually but spiritually as well. Lots of reflection about the tensions which constantly seem to be present in this Church we love and struggle to understand.

I give the full top rating to Terryl Givens for tackling such a complex man and subject, although sometimes the writing bogged down for me, in heaviness, in the need to stop and process. I attended BYU initially in 1978-79 and for some reason was unaware of Eugene England, although aware in the 80s of Sunstone and Dialogue.

He was certainly a man (like Lowell Bennion) who was courageous enough to pave the way for what was to come -a man ahead of his time, and yet valuable in his own time as well. A fighter. Determined to be heard, wanting to be understood. On the other hand, I see the way the leaders of the church in the 60s and 70s were in a culture shock situation (like now) and how the very human - no doubt often inspired - decisions that came about are understandable. One of the big take-aways for me in reading this history was to realize the excruciating, real battles our leaders fight and endure, and how lonely it must sometimes feel.

The world wants what it wants, and as disciples of Christ we are asked to both get out there and engage - AND - to insulate ourselves in a peaceful society. I admire the love that seemed at the heart of who England was, and really love some of his essays. And often, there’s a price to pay for being a provocatively deep thinker.

[Samcwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing and tragic book. England was ahead of his time regarding responding to anachronisms in church history. He naively believed he was simply entering into dialog with church leaders in hit button issues of his (and our) time. The last chapter does a good job of capturing the messiness of England and church leaders trying to navigate how best to navigate an institution and it’s history that is both divine and human. People aren’t complete villain or angels. And this complexity isn’t a flaw in the divine design of belief and religion, it is the design. It ensures we constantly engage with God rather than making idols of perfect church leaders that lead a perfect organization.

I am grateful for and love Eugene England. He was a true believer. I love him for his commitment to the faith and his goodness.

[Brad Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything Terryl Givens writes. This is no exception. A fascinating conflict of a devoted disciple, who saw institutional and cultural contradictions with the core teachings of the gospel the institution professed.

It’s also a fascinating cautionary tale of the importance of developing the wisdom of self awareness in disagreement with those whom one interacts.

[Clorisa Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and insightful look at cultural transformation in the Church over the past several decades. Appreciated combination of critique and credit for the various personas highlighted, including England himself. Interesting “case study” on balancing personal conscious and compliance with authority.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audible version of this complex and fascinating biography of Gene England. Knowing him and his family's during their Palo Alto/Stanford years made this all the more intriguing. I will likely reread it in print form --much to contemplate. Well written by Terryl Givens and outstanding narration by Fiona Givens.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. What was just as fascinating to me, was the background Givens would give to help understand what was going on in England's life and influence on his and others' decisions. He was always faithful to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints, even if he was unorthodox.

[Terry Earley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about a great and generous mind. Often at odds with authority, but in many instances, ahead of his time.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent biography of Eugene England and also addresses the difficulty of trying to balance the fallibility of leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the desire to support their prophetic authority. Givens does a good job of showing England's strengths as a brilliant thinker, teacher, colleague, and compassionate person and a great job of examining his weaknesses.

England (and others) believed there could be healthy changes in Church practices and culture, especially as regards the priesthood/temple ban on those of African descent (lifted in 1978) and the Church's support of the Vietnam War and Republican politics, especially the Nixon Administration. Givens shows England as a prescient man--if he had written and spoken many of the things he did at the present time, they would not seem so controversial. But England was writing and speaking at a time when some Church leaders were trying to maintain what they saw as "faithful history"--with no negative details discussed--and an air of apostolic infallibility that many saw as applicable to every saying by individual leaders. This process reflected the general changes in U.S. culture that evolved during the 1960s through the 1980s, with authority being questioned and authorities reacting to those questions in ways that younger readers may wonder at, but that older readers will recognize as common at the time. There was no acceptance of the idea of a loyal, faithful, questioning or (especially) doubting approach when it came to Church leaders and policies. That has, thankfully, changed, but did not change in time for England to benefit.

England had a need for approval from Church leaders, and book's insights into a time when a person could write repeated letters to Apostles and other general authorities and actually receive responses or meet with them personally are staggering compared to today, when the Church has grown to about 16 million members and concerns are dealt with more locally. England was blind to what Givens helps the reader see: that the audiences for England's writings could not necessarily understand his essential faithfulness and that he sometimes made remarks that seemed clumsily or devastatingly critical of Church leaders. He constantly sought to understand what he might have said or done in error, but was unable to accept counsel about those errors in advance or after the fact. On the other hand, he was subjected to behind-the-scenes, even backstabbing, critiques and resulting fallout. There were people who were jealous of or at least concerned about what seemed to be a following that England developed, especially among young adults, although he seemed oblivious to that and met people, one by one, on his own compassionate terms. England really got on the nerves of and was seen as dangerous by some colleagues and Church leaders, who allowed his faults and missteps to build their frustrations, which led to unfortunate public and private criticisms that were delivered without as much compassion and due process as one could wish had been applied.

Givens stitches the bright thread of the love story between Gene and Charlotte England throughout the book--although England seems not to have appreciated her intellectual strengths until later in his life. England came late to feminism but wholeheartedly supported the women (and men) who struggled with those issues in the Church.

My complaints are three: (1) the book is set in an especially small and hard-to-read font (something the author does not control); (2) there is no bibliography of England's publications, which seems like a huge missed opportunity; and (3) while the controversies and difficulties of England's life are described in great detail, his compassion and heartening influences on others are repeatedly alluded to but described in less depth--perhaps because individuals did not want to have their personal experiences included as examples. But this is a masterful work about an important life. It is well worth reading to learn more about England and a particular time and place in Church history, as well as a pattern for faithful discipleship in dangerous times, whether the dangers are within or without. The reader will also want to read the collections of England's essays available as Dialogues with Myself and The Quality of Mercy.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important read for any practicing Latter-day Saint for a number of reasons. It shows the tensions between theological scholars and official Church leadership. The former (like England) interested in researching and discussing historical interpretations, the latter jealously guarding who declares doctrine and who doesn’t. Most of these tensions happened in the 1960s-1980s when certain Church leaders were significantly more declarative about less-relevant issues. Fortunately, I don’t see the modern Church acting this way.
It’s also a lesson in self-awareness. Givens does an excellent job of both championing England’s heart and motives, while showing his blindspots. He simply wasn’t able to read between the lines or perceive when he was being a thorn in the sides of others. But for all his faults, I finished this book thinking England is a great man, whose actions and motivations are worthy of not just study, but emulation.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biography at its Finest

Likes:
1. Terryl Givensis a gifted, skilled, and talented, historian, biographer, theologian, philosopher, and author.
2. His writing is descriptive, void of ego, respectful of individual sentience and agency i.e., a reader’s ability to comprehend information and discern truth, and respectful and gracious in his treatment of topics, subjects, and objects each with their divine and flawed reality.
3. The biography is a celebration of Eugene England. And it is a celebration of life in all of its mystery and seeming complexity. It is therefore a moving witness of God. Moving indeed. My heart and mind are in a different place than before reading it.

Dislikes:
1. None.
2. FWIW, a review by another suggests that less elucidation of England’s theology would have been preferred. That may perhaps be apt for a reader familiar with his theology. It is inapt for me eventhough I am rather familiar with what herein is described as an intellectual or liberal theology with roots in the teachings and wonderings of Joseph Smith, Orson Pratt, B.H. Roberts, and so forth.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

“England’s leadership style, not surprisingly was iconoclastic. A Latter-day Saint congregation’s most important executive, always a male, is the executive secretary. Gene gave the position to the retiring branch president’s wife. They said, ‘well she’s a woman.’ And he said, ‘I don’t care. She knows the people and the area better than anyone around and her name is Frances and they don’t know she’s a woman.’ So she stayed on.” -Givens

“I have thought for some time that the old and usually fruitless argument about whether we are saved by faith or works is resolved by seeing salvation as a condition of being, gradually brought about through a combination of God’s gifts and our response to them that changes us — not a mere reward for works or irresistible infusion of grace.” -England

“At crucial points getting a sense that divinity exists and cares about us is very important, but continual guidance is counterproductive, it doesn’t teach us to be gods […] I think being in contact with God constantly is moving towards the devil’s plan.” -England

“England was on the right side of his church’s theological history, but at the wrong moment in the church’s institutional history.” -Givens

“I gave the lesson in High Priest Quorum…focusing on the Atonement as a way not so much to get forgiveness after repentance as a source of power and means to give us sufficient faith to repent and forgive ourselves.” -England

“We need to cultivate moral courage. It seems clear that most forms of insincere and unloving speech arise from fear: fear of serious reflection on what we care about and want to be, fear of exposing our limited selves, fear of the opinion and power of others.” -England

“As I walked in, there was a different kind of feel, a different kind of energy to anything I had experienced in the Mormon church before. Experiences that I had until then were kind of formal, kind of impersonal, and this was very personal. This was an energy of wanting to know what you thought, what your feelings were, what your struggles were…it was not authoritarian; it wasn’t like he knew more than you did. It was very emotional actually.” -David Barber, law student, about the England home

“The most anguishing problem in Mormon experience is the struggle to maintain individual integrity, to be true to ourselves in the face of pressures to obey, to conform, to overlook, what seem to be to Cummings and others ‘clear fallacies or even tyrannies in the strictly authoritarian pattern’, especially to keep the faith with ourselves in the face of misunderstanding, hostility, even ostracism from our brothers and sisters and disapproval, even disciplinary action, from those in authority over us in the church.” -England

“England would write an essay notorious among the orthodox, alleging that the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi, in a famous episode of spirit-directed killing, was actually committing nothing more than rationalized murder. (“Gene loved the Book of Mormon, but he loved it differently”, observed one colleague.)” -Givens

“From talking with Mormon women, that the devaluation of women inherent in the expectation of polygyny is destruct of their sense of identity and worth now.” -England

“I think you quite wrong if you teach (as you say on page 8 you believe) that the essential difference between men and women is that ‘it is women who have the babies’ and that thus the essential purpose of eternal marriage is ‘to bear children in the next world’ and that given ‘the periodic nature of women, the basic essential biological reproductive difference between men and women,’ polyandry would be absurd in heaven but polygyny would make things more efficient. . . .is terribly demeaning to women.” England to religion professor Robert J. Matthews. Matthews took issue with England sharing his belief that polygamy is not an eternal principle.

“He was chastised and cautioned ‘not to write on ‘speculative’ subjects like polygamy or material that could undermine the authority of church leaders.” When England met with Maxwell and Oaks after being excluded from a proposed encyclopedia of Mormonism.”

“In England’s motive’s and analysis, with the benefit of hindsight, we find a striking prescience vindicated in subsequent years. Only in 2016, with the church finding its growth in the Northern hemisphere stymied and disaffection increasing, did the church issue a statement that emphatically signaled a new directive for a new age.” -Givens (With the age of the internet they now had to consider that everyone had access to everything. Basically they could no longer brush over serious issues both current and historically.)

“In saner moments, I…open my imagination to the billions of diverse lives who have learned about and experienced that love in many diverse ways. I realize that the mortal experience of those billions is not wasted because they don’t have the version of the gospel that I have. They are learning and experiencing vital things…important spiritual growth, even as they are being prepared — just as I am — to eventually hear the fullness of the gospel.” -England “Suggesting that as a Latter-day Saint he had neither a monopoly nor a totality of the truth.” -Givens

“I think we are going to have a situation where these people [‘bright and experience and more liberal in their views’] are just going to leave.” -England

“So what am I to do with my overwhelming conviction that God does such particular things for Latter-day Saints…and my equally strong conviction that he must be an awfully partial, even inefficient God if he indeed reserves such small favors, or even much of his attention, for a very, small minority of his children.” -England

[Joseph Cloward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic biography that can't help being much more than a biography of England's life. In Givens's able hands, the story of England's life becomes a deep meditation on the trials and travails of the Mormon intellectual, depicted almost as a dramatic (Shakespearean?) tragedy. I suspect I'll be returning to this book again and again as I grapple with some of the same questions England did.

[Laura Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Wonderful book that documents both the humanistic parts of England’s life and his great triumphs. So glad the book was written so others can remember and learn from England.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable story for understanding the perplexities of modern Mormonism, told by Mormonism's greatest loving critic.

[Mike Witting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful tragedy. Both that the church didn't accept many of his ideas sooner and that he died too young and likely still with intellectual and spiritual turmoil.